05/15/2001Vikings Prepare For First Trip To World Series In 19 Years

This weekend, Hudson Valley Community College's
baseball team is headed to the NJCAA Division III World Series for the
first time since 1982. Sporting a 32-8 record, Hudson Valley, the Region
III champions, will face Massachusetts's Quinsigamond Community College
(32-12), the Region XXI champions, in the opening game of this year's World
Series. The two teams kick off the double-elimination tournament at 9 a.m.
on Saturday, May 19. All games will be played at Dwyer Stadium in Batavia,
N.Y.

Due to construction at Hudson Valley, the Vikings
will practice at Troy's Geer Field this week. The team practices from 3:30
to 5 p.m. today, 4:30 to 5:45 p.m. Wednesday and from 4:30 to 5:45 p.m.
Thursday. The Vikings leave for the World Series at 8 a.m. Friday.

Hudson Valley, led by head coach Tom Reinisch
of Troy, qualified for the World Series by coasting through the NJCAA Division
III Region III double-elimination tournament May 11-13 at Murnane Field
in Utica. In the opening game, the Vikings defeated Columbia-Greene Community
College, 12-5, on the strength of Justin Beach's (Columbia) eighth-inning
three-run triple, which gave Hudson Valley an 8-5 lead. It was Chris
Cooper's (Shenendehowa) sixth-inning grand slam that propelled Hudson
Valley to a 10-2 victory against Broome Community College in game two.
And in the championship game, which Hudson Valley won, 7-4, again against
Columbia-Greene, Bobby Krogh (Troy) was all guts on the mound, recording
eight strikeouts and giving up no earned runs in a complete-game effort.

"It's unbelievable to know we've come this
far," said Krogh, who picked up his sixth and most significant victory
of the season. "We definitely play as a team."

Fifteen of the 21 players on Hudson Valley's
roster hail from Section II high schools. Two members of the team – Silvestre
Castro (Norman Thomas) and Nick Borgia (Scotia) – earned all-star
status this year. Castro was named a First Team All-Region III infielder;
Borgia was named a Second Team All-Region III pitcher.

Castro, a 5-foot-7, 145-pound freshman who
primarily plays second base, leads the Vikings with a .409 batting average,
a .496 on-base percentage, 60 runs scored, nine doubles, 10 triples and
14 stolen bases. He also has contributed 38 RBI. Borgia, a sophomore right-hander,
is 5-1 with one save and a 2.15 ERA. He has recorded 50 strikeouts in 54
innings pitched.

Krogh may be Hudson Valley's most versatile
player. A first-baseman and pitcher, he's posted a 6-1 record with three
saves and a 2.02 ERA while batting .374. Krogh has struck out a team-high
61 hitters in 49 innings pitched. The freshman lefthander also has contributed
a team-high 46 RBI. He has six doubles, eight triples, four home runs,
and he has scored 32 times.

"You've got to know how to win," Reinisch said. "Baseball's
like a roller coaster, with highs and lows. When you get into the lows,
you've got to get out of it and know you'll be OK. These guys always think
they can win."

As a team, Hudson Valley is batting .307 with
a .407 on-base percentage. The Vikings have a combined 3.07 ERA. The Vikings
have lost just one of their last 16 games.

"We just take it one game at a time," Castro
said. "Every player's dream is to go to the World Series, and it's coming
true for us."

GAME 12 – 7 p.m., Tuesday, May 22Winner of game 9 vs. winner of game 10

GAME 13 – 7 p.m., Wednesday, May 23Winner of game 12 vs. loser of game 11

*CHAMPIONSHIP GAME - 7 p.m., Thursday, May 24Winner of game 11 vs. winner of game 13

*If necessary, a second championship game will be played at 7 p.m. on
Friday, May 25.

Hudson Valley Community College, located in Troy,
offers more than 50 degree and certificate programs in four academic divisions;
Business; Engineering and Industrial Technologies; Health Sciences; and
Liberal Arts and Sciences. One of 30 community colleges in the State University
of New York system, Hudson Valley has an enrollment of more than 9,000
students each year, and is known as a leader in distance learning initiatives
and worker retraining.